Absolute Cozenage
by Generouslyinnercheesecake
Summary: When Bruce found out about Mar’i and Damian’s relationship, he was appalled. And two years late./Contains Mar’i Grayson/Damian Wayne!


DISCLAIMER: All public characters, settings, etc. are not mine and are property of DC comics. I am not making money off of this work. All my original characters/plot are property of me, the author, and I am not associated with DC comics in any way, shape or form.

A/N: Hello, lovelies! I'm back with yet another one-shot. I have so many other one-shots that need to be edited, but I will be busy in the next three weeks or so. Not only because of school but also because I'm getting a job! My first job! I'm excited but also scared about managing school, this, and a job. Please be patient with my while I start to adjust and finish midterms ;-;

Anyway, suggestions are always accepted in any form! Don't be afraid to comment or PM me! Hope you enjoy the one-shot!

WARNING: strong language and mentions of statutory rape.

——-

Dick had figured out about Mar'i and Damian's relationship two months after it began.

They were only kissing (_truly!_) but after Dick barged into their room and saw their lips locked, he pulled the two apart. He had made assumptions about their situation: that they were simply exploring one another's bodies for their bodily benefits, that they were completely hormone-driven.

He was quickly proved wrong when he saw them interact with one another in other environments. Dick saw how they helped balance each other—Mar'i stopping Damian from being too pushy and Damian stopping Mar'i from being too impulsive. They made each other better people, while also accepting each other's as they were meant to be.

Dick, over the last two years had learned to think of Damian as his son-in-law—through the awkward moments, the heart-filled moments, and everything in between. Yes: Mar'i was only 17 years old, close to 18, and far from the realm of marriage (Dick made sure they both knew that, though they were both horrified when they heard it), but they were two halves that made a whole. It just...fit.

Bruce, however, was appalled when he found out about their relationship.

They were down in the Batcave. Damian had just gotten injured—a stab wound in his hand. Mar'i, who hadn't been on patrol with him that night, was immensely concerned over the man. She sat by Damian's side in some grey sweatpants and a beaten crop top, her head on his shoulder as Bruce patched up his hand. When Bruce saw Mar'i's red-rimmed eyes and frown, he appeared as confused as the monotone man could, but minded his own business by continuing to treat his son's wound.

Bruce didn't bother to say anything when he was finished with Damian's hand, instead turning his back towards the couple to properly wash the tools and throw out the extras. When Bruce turned back around to offer Damian mild pain meds (which he knew the man wouldn't accept), he saw them.

Kissing.

Literally.

_Kissing_.

Bruce's eyes narrowed, then he cleared his throat. Mar'i and Damian broke apart, Damian surprisingly being the one to blush—though it was faint. "Sorry," Mar'i muttered with a small smile, her eyes still puffy but more loving.

Bruce stared blankly at the two of them. "What is your relationship?" He questioned, not bothering with the niceties.

The couple turned to look at one another, shock permeating their faces. "Pardon?" Damian hesitated. Something he never did.

"What is your relationship with one another?"

The couple stilled.

Mar'i suddenly burst out into laughter, chortling until tears began to run down her red face. Damian still appeared absolutely confounded. "Father..." Damian whispered, his eyes staring down at the man.

Dick entered the medical bay, a concerned look on his face. "Are you good, Damian?" He asked.

Damian nodded mechanically. "Of course, Richard," he replied. "Father..."

Dick tilted his head curiously in Mar'i direction. The young woman had stopped laughing. Mar'i told him, "Bruce has been..." she almost started laughing again, but continued, "unaware of our-"

"Wait, _wait_," Dick shook his hands around, a smirk growing on his face. "It's been-"

"I know," Mar'i grinned back at her father.

Bruce looked between the father-daughter duo, confused beyond belief. "Is this a," Bruce clenched his jaw, "mutual agreement between two consenting adults?"

Mar'i began laughing, Dick looked uncomfortable, and Damian facepalmed. Damian lifted his head, then answered: "One: I am demisexual. Two: we have been together for the last two years, meaning we both would not legally be adults. Mar'i is still 17-years-old."

Bruce blinked, then opened his mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it. Then closed it.

"Looks like you have to spell it out for him, Damian," Dick told him.

Damian sighed heavily. "Mar'i and I have been in a romantic relationship for the last two years, Father."

As Bruce looked back on those couple years, he remembered the intense glances between the couple. The awkward silences when anyone mentioned Damian or Mar'i's partners. _The hickies. The unexplained marks._

"Why did you not say anything?" Bruce whispered.

Mar'i gulped, demeanor suddenly changed. "We thought you knew," she informed him.

"Why would I-"

"We have mentioned it on various occasions," Damian said, annoyedly. "We refrained from public displays of affection as to not create a...tense atmosphere."

Bruce blinked. He felt it was out of nowhere, but also something he could look back on and see indicators of. He claimed to be the world's greatest detective, but he couldn't see his son had been in a two-year relationship. Who else knew? How did it start?

"_Holy shit what the hell_," he muttered quietly under his breath, placing his forehead in his right palm. Worry and guilt emanated from his body language.

"Bruce, it's-"

Then he realized something. It couldn't be something between two consenting adults.

"Mar'i," he warned. The young woman's eyes widened and she backed off. "You are underage. You have no place in a relationship with my son, a legal adult," Bruce snapped.

Mar'i's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me?" Bruce turned his own glare upon her. "I love Dami so much. I've been with him for over two years!" She held up two fingers. "I would gladly sacrifice my own life for his."

"Have you two had _sex_!?" Bruce demanded.

Damian facepalmed while Dick muttered, vexed, "Oh my god, Bruce." With all the noise in the medbay, Tim, Jason, Steph, and Cass wandered at the entrance, peeking their heads up behind Dick's shoulders.

"Why does it matter!?" Mar'i's voice rose as she got angrier and angrier.

Bruce bared his teeth, causing Jason to roll his eyes and proceed to gossip with Stephanie, who was standing beside him. "My son is my business," Bruce grit out.

Mar'i rolled her eyes, imitating Jason's previous mannerism. "He's an adult now. He can make his own decisions!"

"You cannot!" Bruce spat judgmentally.

Mar'i retracted a bit, then narrowed her eyes once again. "Why? Because I'm not who you want for Damian? Sorry you can't control everything and everyone, Bruce," Mar'i fought back, her tone venomous. She could hear the other heroes chuckling behind the doorway, but honestly didn't care. Bruce had always made Damian feel controlled—so similar in a way that his mother had treated him, sometimes.

Bruce, with his glare deadly, held his head up high. "Whether or not you like it," he emphasized, "you are a child, Mar'i Grayson." Dick rolled his eyes as he remembered a time in which Bruce had said that same thing to him, but with Dick's name as the first. "I do not want statutory rape on my son's record."

Everyone in the room, besides Bruce, burst into groans of displeasure.

"Dios mío, B."

"You really think Damian would do that?"

"I consented! Dad knew before we had-"

"I would never, Father."

"Are you kidding me, _Brucie_?"

"No."

Bruce looked behind the doorway. "Were you all aware of their relationship?" He questioned.

Everyone nodded.

"You're just blind, Bruce," Steph commented bluntly, and Bruce felt something ugly claw at his chest.

Tim tilted his head, unsure. "Well, to anything that isn't...logical," he added.

Steph turned to him. "Like you should say anything," she quipped. Tim sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me Sirs, Missus," Alfred said, appearing behind the other heroes. "If I may get to the medical bay." Everyone split as though they were the Red Sea.

Alfred, with a metal tray in his hands, looked around the room to see a defensive Mar'i, embarrassed Damian, annoyed Dick, and, most of all, frustrated Bruce. The butler could put everything in place before anyone began questioning why he was simply standing there.

Alfred stepped beside Bruce and before the younger man could blink, Alfred lifted the metal tray and swatted Bruce's arm with it, the distinctive wack echoing throughout the cave. "Bruce Thomas Wayne!" He heard the other heroes giggling behind him, but he would deal with that later. "Miss Mar'i and Master Damian's relationship deserves the upmost respect. Their countenances prove you've been treating them otherwise," Alfred scolded.

Bruce had the decency to look surprised. "Alfre-"

"Apologize, Sir. Or else I will not hesitate to restrict your coffee intake."

Bruce blinked, his face blank beneath, almost angry beneath the cowl. However, his father-figure didn't seem to care much. After a moment of Alfred narrowing his wrinkling eyes at the man, Bruce finally gave in. The man sighed. "I apologize," he grit out.

"To whom?" Alfred demanded.

"Mar'i and Damian."

"And for what, Sir?"

Bruce felt all life leave his body as his other sidekicks maniacally laughed behind the doorway, Dick included. "For..." He grit his teeth, his deadly glare piercing Mar'i's own eyes.

"For assuming Damian statutorily raped me."

Bruce's glare hardened when Alfred gasped. "My goodness, Sir! God knows why you would assume that of Master Damia-"

"For assuming the worse," Bruce finished, his teeth feeling as though they were about to crack.

Jason leaned into Cass. "Did a lot of assumin', that's right," he muttered in her ear. Bruce snapped his head in their direction, only to receive a cheeky grin from Jason.

"Are we done?"

Dick pursed his lips, hesitating a bit. "Bru-"

"I presume we are done."

Alfred sighed, stared at his own ward, then nodded once. "Dinner is prepared upstairs. I expect everyone to attend." The butler looked pointedly at Damian and Mar'i. Damian scowled, while Mar'i rolled her eyes to hide her blush.

After Alfred retreated, everyone else followed but Dick and a stiff Bruce. Damian had slowly walked out the med-bay, Mar'i helping her boyfriend with a supportive hand.

A moment of silence, then. "You _knew_."

Dick sighed tiredly at the accusing tone in Bruce's voice. "Yeah," he breathed out. "Pretty much everyone did, B."

Another moment of silence.

"Are you upset?" Dick asked hesitantly. "That it's Mar'i? Or that no one told you?"

Bruce mulled over the thought. "Neither." Dick raised his eyebrows his question, his expression open to interpretation, yet so revealing. "Damian should've told me when they began dating."

"They didn't tell me until two months after. Even then, I caught them." After Bruce's lack of response, Dick couldn't help it when his eyes went downward, his guilt shining in them. "Bruce," he whispered. "I'm sorry he didn't tell you-"

"Dick," the younger man ceased his talking when he noticed Bruce pinch the bridge of his nose tiredly. "It's not your fault I've been an absent Father."

"Bruce."

Said man held up a single hand to signal Dick to stop interrupting. "It's fact. I haven't been there for Damian as much as I have needed to be." Bruce sulked. "Now it's too late."

"That's not true, Bruce," Dick blurted out, then realized how childish that sounded. Dick paused, then continued, "Damian understands how busy you were-_are_. We all are."

"Why did he turn to you, then?" Bruce asked, some bitterness laced in his voice.

Dick took a single step back. "I-I don't know."

"You do," Bruce stated. "You connect better with him. You understand him better."

Dick snapped out of his stupor, fully realizing what Bruce was doing. "I'm not going to let you beat yourself up, Bruce!" He suddenly yelled, surprising the other man. Dick, noticing he finally had the upper hand, continued, "You need to form a better relationship with Damian. It has nothing to do with me."

Bruce's eyes lowered a fraction. "Damian does not want-"

"Dinner," Cass interrupted them, appearing at the doorway. Apparently, Alfred had sent her because she had a small, smug smile on her face that only meant Alfred was behind the whole scheme.

Both men turned to look at Cass, then each other, then simultaneously began walking upstairs.

"You're welcome."

"Thank you, Cassandra."

"Thanks, Cass."

* * *

Bruce entered the cave, planning to get a dragging case done when Tim notice his presence while sitting in Bruce's chair (_fuck's sake_). Damian stood beside him, typing away and seemingly researching.

"Hey, Bruce. Do you know Mar'i and Damian are dating?" Tim joked after he took a long sip of his cup, no doubt filled to the brim with black coffee. A smirk lied on the edge of his lips as he said it.

Bruce could faintly see Damian's lips transform into a frown, so he swallowed the clawing feeling in his chest and shook his head, continuing to head towards the two young men.

"Are you two almost done with _my_ computer?"

* * *

Bruce was, surprisingly, up from the cave to actually get some dinner and join the rest of the family at the table without much coercion. As soon as he arrived in the doorway, however, he heard (_swear to fucking god_) Stephanie, Cass, and Jason all say, simultaneously:

"Hey, Bruce. Do you know Mar'i and Damian are dating?"

He wanted to cry.

But the father continued to the dinner table, hearing their distinctive roaring laughs, though Cass' was very quiet, and waited for his meal with clenched fists.

He should've known they would've done some shit like this.

* * *

"Hey, Bruce. Do you know Mar'i and Damian are dating?" Duke asked him next, and he wanted to tear his hair out, but spared it for the fact that the boy was the only normal member of the Batclan.

Bruce turned around slowly, and knew he was inadvertently intimidating the young man. "Excuse me?"

Duke blinked. Then: "They told me to say that."

Bruce's chest flared in anger, and he swore so loudly in his head he would be surprised if Martian Manhunter didn't flinch from thousands of miles away. Without replying, he turned back around, his hands clenched at his sides, and headed to the cave computer.

"Not to pry or anything, but," (_he was going to_),"Did you...not know Mar'i and Damian were dating for that long?"

'That long.' (_Thank you, Duke, once again, for reminding me how much of an absent father I am. I deserved to know nothing of their relationship for that long. I deserve this, and yet I get angry. Why?_)

With no reply, Duke continued. "I mean...you should talk with Damian about that." He paused, then hurried, "If you wanna. I would be mad if I were Damian."

(_Once again, Duke. Thank. You. Why are you my favorite, behind Cass, again?_)

Bruce just grunted, prompting the other man to grimace and hesitate to speak. After a minute of Bruce starting up the computer and beginning to type, Duke left with no other words.

It left Bruce sinking in his own guilt.

* * *

"Were you truly not aware Mar'i and I are dating?" Damian asked after one long patrol. He had gotten a small injury that required a few easy stitches, which Bruce was able to provide.

Bruce didn't pause in his stitchings, but instead took upon a more vulnerable expression that was reserved for his loved ones. Even they saw it once in a blue moon.

He was tired of the comments from his family. He was tired of the ignorance. He needed to step up and be a father. Like Dick.

"No."

He could tell Damian breathing stuttered, but didn't bother pointing it out. After a pregnant pause, Bruce said, "I'm sorry, chum."

Sorry was not something Bruce gave out like candy. Sorry was something, to Bruce, that replaced the true solution to a problem—by not fighting for the solution. Sorry was something that was given when he honestly wanted to amend his own mistakes and had no other choice but to do it in words. Sorry was a last resort.

Another pause ensued in which Bruce finished his stitchings and cleaned his tools, Damian remaining completely silent. Bruce didn't know if he was even breathing, he was so quiet.

Just as he returned to the bed to wrap the wound, Damian replied in that reserved, vulnerable, voice that was only used for two people (one of which was not Bruce), "It's okay, Father."

Bruce felt his own breathing stutter, and suddenly wanted to flee the room. Because he didn't deserve forgiveness. He didn't deserve his son forgiving him for not raising him properly—for being such an absent father. Especially after Damian's mother was so absent as well; after she was borderline abusive and maniacally manipulative whenever she saw him at all.

He doesn't deserve this.

"It's not, Damian," Bruce insisted. "I've been too...absent. Gone. From being a proper father." He saw Damian's eyes lower, and knew his claim was completely true.

"Father-"

"What can I do, Damian?" The air suddenly felt too thick in the med-bay because _remember the last time you were here?_ "How can I get you to open up to me?" Bruce whispered, and felt his expression turn into a grimace that felt borderline piteous.

Damian furrowed his brows, then turned his head to stare at the stupid pain chart. "I trust you, Father," he replied in an even voice, as if that could fool them.

"Damia-"

"Father," Damian grit out, his eyes suddenly wet without his consent. "Grayson has repeatedly accepted me for who I am," he stated, as if that was the answer to the entire universe.

Bruce stood there, completely confused.

He accepted Damian, right? He never gave him much talk (anymore) when Damian would destroy the manor bushes, or track mud in the house because he would walk Titus every night, or would talk back at his teachers when they would present history in an inaccurate manner.

"I do no-"

"It is not through words, but instead through actions," Damian refuted. Like he read Bruce's mind.

When Bruce looks back upon those moments. Yes. He did. He grounded Damian and gave him the silent treatment, he made him clean with a single gesture of his index finger, he only talked to the principal and drove Damian home and restricted him to stay home from patrol that night...and three nights after that.

Damian had, before his punishments, stated that his training was always like that, apologized for the mud tracks and offered to carry Titus, and not restored to violence and had given a fake apology to the teacher for 'talking back'.

Bruce had blatantly ignored Damian's attempts at adapting to the ways of Bruce's culture and living conditions, and still punished him. But Dick didn't.

"I am sorry, son," Bruce apologized with lowered eyes and too-wrinkled frown lines. Damian's expression mirrored his, though his skin was smooth and much tanner, and Bruce was struck with how beautiful a combination his son was of him and Talia.

Damian didn't reply, but instead took the wrap from Bruce's hand and began expertly handling it himself. Bruce stood there, not knowing what to do with himself. He thought having other wards would aid him in this conversation, but he was currently at a loss.

Until, he remembered the original subject at hand. "I used to date an alien," he admitted.

Damian stilled.

"Pardon?"

Bruce felt a smile tug at his lips inadvertently. "It was almost two decades ago," he recalled with a fond smile, then it turned into a smirk. "How old is Jon, again?"

Damian fumbled with the wrap, almost dropping it. When he got his bearings, he repeated, "Pardon?"

Bruce raised a single eyebrow, putting on a blank mask to only frustrate the young man and amuse himself. "A simple question, really. Clark would never cheat." Damian dropped the wrap, only for it to be caught by Bruce's quick reflexes. "At least, not deliberately."

Damian lifted his upper body to look at his father, searching his body and face for any indication of a lie. When Bruce showed none, Damian looked directly into his father's eyes.

"Aliens are better," Bruce stated with a straight face, and Damian ducked his head into his hand that wasn't injured. Bruce's face broke into a small smile. "I truly hope you're happy, Damian," Bruce suddenly said. Damian lifted his head from his hands, then nodded earnestly.

"I am. Happy."

After everything—after the teasing, the awkward moments—Bruce could tell. He had observed the couple throughout the week, and seen them interact multiple times. He was amazed by the way they could silently hold conversations with one another, help each other. They were two parts of a whole, and how Bruce couldn't see that before was almost insulting to their relationship.

"I know, Damian."

Damian smiled, and Bruce couldn't help but childishly do the same.

———

A/N: .Did you like it? All love!


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